The Merits of Christmas as told by Yugi Moto
by Haku Ishatar
Summary: Yugi and yami have a discussion about the merits of christmas. (One shot)
1. Story

Haku: Jingle bells, Jungle bells, Jingle all the...  
  
Y. Haku: Would you please shut up?  
  
Haku: Okay then. This is my little Christmassy one shot called, "The merits of Christmas as told by Yugi Moto."  
  
DISCLAIMER:  
  
Y. Haku: Haku owns none of the following: Yu-Gi-Oh!, Jingle bells, the Christmas Macarena, Christmas, The Nativity story, fairy lights... basically nothing except the plot.  
  
~~~  
  
The merits of Christmas as told by Yugi Moto  
  
~~~  
  
A quiet hush had settled over the snow covered Domino City. The only sounds to be heard were those of merry little laughter, coming from the merry little houses, covered in twinkling, many coloured, merry little lights, appropriately named Fairy lights. Here and there, you would find a house that clearly outdid the others, whether it be the fake Santa sticking out of the roof, the manger scene in the front yard, or the fact that the building was shaped like a turtle.  
  
The Kame game shop got stares, even when it wasn't Christmas, but the building was at this time of year, always covered in little glowing lights that made it sparkle and glow. But our story is not about the building, our story takes us past the wreathed front door, through the tinsel covered Game Shop part of this home business, up the stairs, with their streamer covered banister, to a room in which a certain young boy, and his ancient Egyptian doppelganger were talking. Said young boy had unruly black hair, lightly tipped with cherry, and golden strands hung about his face. Such was not a festive hairstyle; his hair simply grew that way. He also had large purple eyes, showing a trusting soul and something of exasperation was in the way he held his relatively small fame, complete with pale skin.  
  
The spirit on the other hand, looked confused. He looked almost identical to the boy, except for a few minor details. He stood a foot taller, some of his yellow fringe streaked back into the black of his hair, his skin was tanned, and probably the most notable difference were his eyes. Crimson orbs, naturally narrowed into a serious expression, but now were naught but confused, bordering on frustrated, slits. " I still don't get it Aibou, I mean, why is there a day called 'Christmas' When basically you don't do anything except put up silly decorations and sing annoying songs?" The spirit said, sitting on the end of his other's bed (complete with stocking).  
  
"Because Yami, That isn't everything that we do. There's a lot of symbolic meaning about Christmas as well." The boy replied, a slight hint of annoyance in his tone.  
  
"Such as?" Yami asked, looking at his partner carefully.  
  
"We give each other gifts as a sign of how much we love and respect each other." Yami felt his eyes roll.  
  
"So what? I can and do give you gifts all the time."  
  
"Yes, but there's something special about the gifts at Christmas, more than just the convenient stores making money. Giving a gift at Christmas is like giving someone a gift on their birthday. It's special, because it's their special day, and you don't want to ruin it for them." The boy replied.  
  
"Even so Yugi," Aha! The mystery boy has a name! "How can it be a special day, when everyone gets gifts? I mean, why do you even celebrate the holiday in the first place?"  
  
Yugi smiled. "I was wondering when you'd ask that question Yami. See, Christmas started many, many years ago in a small town called Bethlehem. It's a Christian tradition th..."  
  
"But I'm not catholic Aibou, how can I celebrate, when I don't even belong to that religion?"  
  
"Christmas has become more than a catholic tradition these days. Sure, it has its roots in Christianity, but it also means more than that. It's a day where wars stop, enemies become friends, and there's peace, even if only for one day." The boy replied, looking at Yami happily.  
  
"Oh. Well how did it start then?" Yami asked, still confused and somewhat sceptical about the whole deal.  
  
"Well, the story says that a young boy was born in a manger, the saviour of mankind who was promised by God, on Christmas day. Also, this boy was so important and holy, that he was born of a virgin, and angels rejoiced when he came."  
  
"A midget was born, big whoop." Yami said, now slightly bored with the tale.  
  
"Yami! There's more to it then that. To the Christians, this is the day when their saviour was born, for you it'd be the equivalent of the birth of a god! You can't go disrespecting other religions just because you think that they are wrong!" Yugi commented, his voice slightly lecturing.  
  
"Now this boy was so special to the people, that three kings came out to see him, and presented him with a gift each. That's why we give people gifts on Christmas, one to show our love, and two, so that they are reminded of that part of the tale."  
  
"Then what's all the other stuff for? The tree and the lights and stuff?"  
  
"Well I'm not exactly sure what the tree and lights are for, but the Star on top of the tree symbolises the star of Bethlehem." Yugi said.  
  
"The star of Bethlewhat?" Yami asked, his tone incredulous.  
  
"The Star of Bethlehem. It rested above the stable where the boy was born until the three kings found him. Tinsel represents two things, the light shining down from it, and snow that covers trees around this time of year." Yami nodded at the smaller, saying that he understood.  
  
'And who's this 'Santa' that everyone keeps talking about?" To the spirit's surprise, Yugi started laughing. "Hey!"  
  
Yugi's giggles subsided. "I'm sorry Yami, but I keep forgetting how little you know. Not even knowing about SANTA!"  
  
"Don't make me feel worse. I just heard some kids in the park saying, I hope Santa comes this year. Who is he; does he give a speech on Christmas day or something?"  
  
"No, Yami, He's a being that brings gifts to good children and coal to bad children. His legend started years ago, when a man called Nicholas used to put sweets in the children's shoes on the 6th of December."  
  
"Wouldn't that be hard and uncomfortable?"  
  
"Not if the children left their shoes off and by the door, which is what they did back in those times, when they went inside, so every 6th December, Nicholas would go around and put lollies in their shoes." Yugi said.  
  
"Oh. Is that why you have a stocking on the end of your bed? To put the lollies in?"  
  
"Yes. Exactly. The stocking replaced the shoes, but it still has the same symbolic meaning."  
  
"Okay, I'm gathering that almost everything to do with Christmas has a meaning. But what about the singing groupies?"  
  
"They're called Carollers Yami. They don't really have a meaning. They go around singing Christmas songs to make people happy." Yugi said.  
  
"They don't make me happy."  
  
"Nothing makes you happy."  
  
"Not true."  
  
"Yes true"  
  
"Nu-uh"  
  
"Ya-huh"  
  
This train of childish banter went on for some time, until Yugi asked, "What does make you happy then?"  
  
"Being with you, playing Duel monsters, our friends and family..."  
  
"And Friends and Family is what Christmas is truly about Yami, Not about the tree, not about the presents. Commercialism, Santa... They're not really the heart and soul of Christmas. That lies in the day you spend with your family and friends, just hanging out and embodying the spirit of Christmas. That's what it's about."  
  
Yami nodded. "But what's all the other stuff for?"  
  
"Symbolism, and belief, Yami, and just for fun. But it shouldn't be the heart and soul of Christmas... that belongs to family." With that, Yugi shooed the spirit out of his room, so he could get changed and go to bed.  
  
And as the stars twinkled merrily upon the now sleeping form of Domino City, an ancient spirit, still learning in the ways of twenty first century culture sat and thought about the true meaning of Christmas.  
  
~~~  
  
Haku: Short, sweet, kawaii?  
  
Y. Haku: Yes, Kitten, it was reasonably cute.  
  
Haku: That's basically a conversation I had with a friend of mine about two years ago. We were talking about the meaning of Christmas, and the symbols behind it. I just revamped it a bit so it would fit for Yugi and Yami and wrote it down.  
  
Haku: Basically, I was Yugi, and she was Yami. We even had the childish banter at the end. (Yes, she did actually say 'And what about the singing groupies?' even though we don't usually get those around where we live.) Isn't it strange how those kind of things can stay with you for ages?  
  
Y. Haku: So just a short and sweet Christmassy one shot. Read and Review?  
  
Haku: And merry Christmas everyone! Eat all the food you can handle, don't drink too much, Don't drive too fast (in other words, try not to get yourself killed) and always take a sweater! 


	2. Replies

Haku: Okay, here's the review Replies to my Christmas fic. Firstly, I'd like to thank everyone who pointed out things t me, and helped me with symbolism and such. I do appreciate constructive criticism. And this may come as a shock, but I am actually a catholic, but not a practising one. (More a C+E one.) To me though, I do believe the story of Jesus, but I also believe that Dec. 25th is only symbolic of the fact that he was born, and that he might not have been born on that exact day.  
  
I actually go to a catholic school and do learn about other religions, so I'll probably fix the fic up as much as I can, Okeday?  
  
Now on to the review replies.  
  
Red Roses2-chan- Now about the fact they knew... that I do know. Angels visited the shepherds and the 'kings.' (Though they're only documented as wise-men, I still call them kings, because it sounds better.) At least, I think they did... I know for a fact that they visited the shepherds though.  
  
And Yugi is smarter and stronger than he looks. -huggles him-  
  
Miss Matched- Thanks for the heads up, and I'll fix that up!  
  
Stormy_rose- And the sad thing is, I'm a catholic, and I didn't know that. I guess that it really depends on how strong your faith is, what exactly you believe.  
  
Senshichan14- Aww, but this isn't my specialty stuff... this isn't angsty at all... ahh well, I'll try to anyway!  
  
Lizz- Thanks for the heads up on Saint Nick! I guess you learn something new every day. And thanks for the review. I go to a catholic school, but I always thought that he put them there on Christmas Eve.  
  
Kat- Thanks for the review! And yeah, Yami and Yugi are my second and third place faves, Malik comes in at number one.  
  
Yami Rissa- Cool! I'm glad you liked it. It was... different from my other fics. ^_^  
  
CPR- Thanks for the explanation of the Christmas decorations, and I think that everyone's entitled to their opinions. If you don't like it, it's okay, as long as you don't flame it, and you didn't, so I'm happy. I realised a long time ago, if you try to write something that everybody likes, there's still going to be a whole lot of unhappy people left after even your best efforts.  
  
Also, it's good to get a negative review once in awhile. It stops my head inflating! ^_^ Thanks for the review and the critique! 


End file.
